Syney nodded. “I motion…” She paused for a moment with her mouth open. “I motion to abolish the law that prevents different races from joining.”
No one at the table moved an inch. Finally Cass cleared her throat. “I second.”
Syney and Helen looked at her. Helen assumed this was coming from some sort of guilt Cass might be feeling regarding what had happened between Syney and Hunter, but she couldn’t be sure. There was an odd look on her younger sister’s face—one Helen wanted to know more about.
Mellisandrianna sat back in her chair. “Call the roll.”
Justice looked at her then at the long parchment used for voting. “Princess Adandrianna of House Crystallianna.”
“Nay.”
“Princess Cassandrianna of House Crystallianna.”
“Yea.”
“Queen Lilith, head of House Grendalin.”
“Nay.”
“Leaf of House Fall, head of the Royal Guard.”
Leaf looked at Helen for a moment. “Nay.” She could see the sadness in his eyes but understood what he had to do. There would be hell to pay from Mellisandrianna if he voted any other way.
“Elder Thomas of House Crystallianna.”
“Nay.”
“Elder Lawrence of House Crystallianna.”
“Nay.”
“Elder Warren of House Grendalin.”
“Nay.”
“Elder Josephina of House Grendalin.”
“Nay.”
“Seated Queen Syney of House Vilori.”
“Yea.”
“Queen Mellisandrianna of House Crystallianna, head of house and ruler of the Village.”
“Nay,” she said with a smile.
Justice made a notation on the parchment. “Motion rejected with eight nays and two yeas.”
Syney stared at the queen for another moment before sitting back down. She dropped her head. Helen wanted to reach over and take her hand—tell her everything was going to be OK—but she knew she couldn’t.
“I do believe, Your Majesty, that you had another motion,” Elder Thomas said,
Syney looked up at him and slowly nodded. “I motion to allow royal and nonroyal pairings.”
“I second,” Queen Lilith said quickly.
Helen’s mouth dropped open. Lilith never seconded anything. She was the one person on the council from whom no one ever knew they had support until the actual vote.
“Shall I call roll?” Justice asked.
Mellisandrianna narrowed her eyes at the Grendalin head of house and nodded.
“Princess Adandrianna of House Crystallianna.”
“Nay.”
“Princess Cassandrianna of House Crystallianna.”
Cass smiled sadly. “Yea.”
“Queen Lilith, head of House Grendalin.”
“Yea.”
“Leaf of House Fall, head of the Royal Guard.”
“Yea.
“Elder Thomas of House Crystallianna.”
“Yea.”
“Elder Lawrence of House Crystallianna.”
“Yea.”
“Elder Warren of House Grendalin.”
“Yea.”
“Elder Josephina of House Grendalin.”
“Yea.”
“Seated Queen Syney of House Vilori.”
“Yea,” she said quietly.
“Queen Mellisandrianna of House Crystallianna, head of house and ruler of the Village.”
A distinct redness blotched her face as she looked around the table at all the faces. “Nay.”
Justice made a notation on the parchment. “Motion passed with eight yeas and two nays.” He had a very rare smile on his face as he handed the paper to Mellisandrianna to sign.
She almost ripped the paper to shreds as she signed her name, and then she stood. “Is there anything else?” Silence. “Good,” she said, before sweeping out of the room, a little slower than usual but still with her signature arrogance.
Helen looked at Syney, whose face was still filled with sadness. She grabbed her hand. “This was a good day for you.”
Syney nodded. “I know.”
Leaf leaned forward. “The other motion is never going to pass while we’re still fighting the war.”
“I know. I just…needed to try.”
Helen sighed. “And thank you for that.”
Syney gave her a sad smile and stood. Vasclineda had moved to stand next to her. The old woman smiled at her. “That was a brave thing you did, one the goddesses greatly admire.”
Syney glanced at Helen then back at the high priestess. “Thank you.”
She nodded. “This is a good day for you. I recommend you make an appearance at dinner tonight. Big announcement,” Vasclineda said, before slowly heading out of the room.
Helen stood up. “Are you ready for this?”
Syney looked at her and slowly nodded. “Yeah. I’ll see you later.”
Helen watched her go before looking back at Leaf. “I don’t think the motion she really wanted to pass did.”
He shook his head. “No. Did you bring the paper for today?”
Helen took a small piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. She watched him read it. At the top were the names Syney and Adam, followed by Helen and Leaf. Two other pairings were there; both were one Lycin and one Magic User. He sighed and handed it back to her. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes appeared sad.
“What should we do?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing. For now.”
She nodded and gave him a small smile before taking a few steps away.
“Helen?”
She turned back to him, and he closed the gap. “I…I want to see you. I really enjoyed what we did yesterday, and I think we can talk more and not…”He left the last part unspoken.
Helen looked away. She wasn’t so sure about what he said. She had nearly thrown herself on his bed the day before; she had longed so much for his touch. “OK,” she said.
He sighed. “After dinner?”
She nodded and continued out of the room. She couldn’t wait until after dinner. She’d had very good reasons for not being with Leaf after she had taken her vows, but now…Everything she had believed in was crumbling around her, and she couldn’t justify not being with the man she loved in order to support a crooked religion and broken traditions. Helen was going to take back something she had missed so dearly, and she couldn’t wait.
He really was going to kill her one day. Reed sighed and picked up speed as he searched the palace for Syney. He told her to wait for him outside the council room. He even said he might be late. Every week, while Syney was in the council meetings, he took the time to meet with her other Protectors and review the week and prepare for the next. And of course this time she wasn’t there at all. He had looked everywhere he assumed she might go and had made three circles around the whole damn palace. Hunter had been right: She didn’t listen very well. Before leaving on the mission, Hunter had sat him down and given him some advice regarding protecting Syney.
“She’s always going to think she knows better, so just let her do what she wants, and when it backfires, tell her that’s why she shouldn’t do it. And get used to the fact that she isn’t going to listen to you,” Hunter had said.
Reed almost had resigned right then. Sure, he had protected Syney for almost a year, but he’d always had Hunter to tell him what to do and to help keep Syney in check. It was much different without him, and man, did Reed miss Hunter.
Finally, as Reed stalked across the open walkway, he spotted Syney sitting on a bench in the gardens. He took off at a run and nearly yelled at her as he approached, but then he saw the look on her face. He hadn’t seen that face in a while, and it scared him a little. She sat on a stone bench, staring off at nothing in front of her, her hand on the necklace she had started to wear after her birthday, a brown-and-purple stone on a silver chain. He slowly walked up to her and sat next to her.
After a while she l
ooked at him. “You told me to meet you outside the council room, didn’t you?”
He nodded. Using words might lead to yelling, he reasoned.
“I’m sorry. I got distracted.”
He nodded again.
She gave him a sad smile. “I’m getting paired.”
“With Adam?”
She looked away as tears welled in her eyes. “Yup.”
“I thought you liked Adam?” he asked slowly.
Syney took a deep breath. “I do.” She looked back to him. “How did you know?”
Reed opened his mouth to answer but stopped. He had a feeling she wasn’t asking about Adam. “You were the only one who could make him really, really mad.”
Syney laughed. “I really could.”
“Plus he looked at you as if you were the only person in the world.”
She looked away and bit her lip. “I thought all Protectors felt that way.”
“No, they protect and put their lives on the line, but most see it as a job. Hunter was only happy when he was with you—even when you two were fighting.” Reed sighed. He shouldn’t be talking about this, he knew, but that was another thing Hunter had told him: Syney wasn’t like normal Magic Users. She wanted to be personally connected to people, even her Protectors.
“Don’t be afraid to care about her, because she’ll care about you,” Hunter had told him with a sad smile. That was the best advice he could have gotten.
She wiped some tears from her eyes. “But he’s not here, and it wouldn’t matter if he were.”
Reed looked at her oddly. Something must have happened at the council meeting. “Can I be honest with you?”
She nodded. “Always.”
“Adam looks at you the same way,” Reed said. “But you don’t look at him that way.”
A few tears fell from her eyes. “I do love him.”
“I know. My mom told me a story about two Lycins who were paired. They were really in love. One of them died soon after they were paired, though, and a year later the other was paired again. He loved his new partner but not as much as he loved the first one. They lived long and happy lives together, though. Like you said, Hunter isn’t here, but Adam is, and he loves you. You two can be happy together.”
After a moment she smiled at him. “Did your mother really tell you that story?”
Reed slowly smiled. “No, but it serves its purpose.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem.”
Syney looped her arm though his, and the two stood. “There’s going to be an announcement about my pairing tonight. What should I wear?”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t know.”
“Ugh! You’re so good with some things but so not good with others! What am I going to do with you?” Syney exclaimed.
“Just let me protect you.”
She laughed. “Sounds good.”
Reed started to walk her back to her room, but she stopped him.
“Do you think we could go to the market or something? I want to get out for a bit.”
He nodded, and they headed out of the palace. Hunter had been right about a lot of things, especially the last thing he had said. “Cherish this assignment, Reed. She’s going to be the biggest pain in the ass, but it’ll be worth it. I promise.” Reed looked at Syney. He had been totally right, about everything.
“So you were right about the connection thing. It says here that while the healing gift is a rare Vilori power, it’s also the most powerful. It connects the healer and the healed because the Vilori uses a combination of personal life force and the life force of the individual he or she is healing,” Adam said, placing a finger in the old leather-bound book in his hands.
“It sounds more like what happens when a Vampire uses a lot of his or her blood to heal someone,” Gabe said.
Adam nodded and looked around the packed dining hall. He hadn’t seen Syney the whole day and wanted to share this new information with her. He also had found out a few more things about the Viloris that she might find interesting.
“How did you get that book out of the library?” Noelle asked.
“I just asked,” Adam replied. “The girl behind the counter told me I could take more if I wanted.”
“Really? Flirting with some young girl to get what you want? I’m so proud,” Gabe said with a smile.
“No flirting. I didn’t even smile at her. I think something weird is going on. When I came in here, three royals offered to find me a seat at their tables,” Adam said, glancing around the room.
Gabe cocked an eyebrow and glanced around as well. After a moment a small smile crossed his lips, and he looked back at Adam.
“No fair using the one Vampire power I didn’t inherit,” Adam said.
Gabe laughed.
“What? What’s going on?” Noelle asked, as Syney and Reed walked up.
“Hey, guys,” Syney said, sitting next to Adam.
“Where have you been?” Adam asked. “I went looking for you. I found some information about Vilori powers.”
“Reed and I went to the market.”
“She bought the whole damn thing,” Reed said, shaking his head.
“I did not!” Syney exclaimed. She looked back at Adam and eyed his hair.
He knew it was a little longer than how he usually kept it, but he hadn’t had time to get it cut; there was too much going on. “Why are you staring at my hair?”
“It’s just…”She reached over and tried to flatten a couple of pieces. The she looked at his face. She wet her thumb and rubbed a spot on his cheek while he stared at her as if she were insane. She brushed a hand down this black suit jacket then sat back to look at him. “OK, now you look good.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You can always play with my hair some more.”
She shook her head then stopped. “Well, maybe…”She started playing with his hair again.
Adam gently grabbed her hand and pulled it down. “What are you doing, honey?”
Syney smiled at him. “Honey? I like it.”
He laughed and shook his head. “I think you’ve gone crazy.”
“No, I haven’t. It’s just—” She was cut off by a loud banging that sounded before the queen was to speak.
They all looked toward the raised platform at the far end of the room. Mellisandrianna stood there, waiting patiently for the entire room to look toward her. Finally she held her hands out and spoke. “It is always with great pleasure that I announce another pairing within the palace. And now, after this morning’s council meeting, there will be much more to be joyous about. As most of you already know, the council has passed a motion to allow pairings between royals and nonroyals. This is a big day for the Village, with a change the high priestess herself has blessed.”
Adam’s mouth flew open, and he stared at the back of Syney’s head. She had done it. He looked at Gabe, who smiled back at him.
“To mark this big day of change, Venus has announced a very special pairing. Our very own seated queen, Syney of House Vilori, and Adam…Blaine,” the queen said, unable to hide her disgust. Nonroyals did not have houses, something she obviously had a problem with.
Syney held out her hand to Adam as everyone clapped. He took it, and they both stood, smiling at the room. Adam had never minded being the center of attention, but now he felt more uncomfortable than ever. Most faces seemed happy for them, while others—mostly royals—gazed at them with contempt. Obviously this wasn’t something everyone was embracing, especially in regard to their soon-to-be king.
“I look forward to your joining,” Mellisandrianna said before smiling once more and gliding out of the room.
Syney and Adam spent the rest of dinner being congratulated by just about everyone. Once he couldn’t take any more, he pulled Syney out and led her quickly to his room. It was much smaller than Syney’s, with only a bed, desk, and one window. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly.
She smiled
up at him. “Are you excited?”
Adam nodded. “I can’t believe you actually got it passed.”
“It wasn’t hard. Only Mellisandrianna and Adanna rejected it.”
“Really?”
She nodded and laid her head against his chest. “I’ve thought about this all day, and I’m really happy. And most of that is because of you.”
He planted a kiss on top of her head before pulling back and going to his bed. He pulled a bag from underneath and pulled things out of it until he found what he wanted. He blew some dust off a dark metallic ring with a dark-red gemstone and brought it to Syney. Then he slid it onto her finger.
“It’s beautiful. Did Gabe give it to you?” she asked, looking down at it.
He frowned at her. “Yeah, he did actually. He said it was my mother’s. And I want you to have it.”
She gave an odd look before shaking it off and smiling. “I love it. Thank you.”
Adam kissed her, wanting nothing more than to be close to her at this moment. He couldn’t believe how happy he was feeling. Syney had put herself on the line, and made the queen pretty unhappy, so they could spend the rest of their lives together. No one had done anything like that for him before. He just hoped he could show her the same amount of dedication.
“You’re pretty close to Commander Leaf, right?” Cass asked Helen. She never had seen Helen squirm as much as she did at that moment. Her face had turned a dark pink, and she started to pick at her fingernails. Cass almost laughed.
“I…I…don’t know if I would say ‘close,’” Helen stammered, glancing around the almost empty library.
For the past half hour, the two had been waiting for Syney. She had requested a meeting with Helen but was late. That wasn’t surprising. Since their mother had announced her pairing with Adam, Syney had become even busier than she’d been before. Cass had crashed their meeting, only because she desperately needed something to do. She had tried two more times to sneak in to see Wes, but there was no way she’d get past the two guards who were always on duty. The rest of the time she sat around thinking about him. He was set to be executed in two days. The thought broke her heart.
“Do you think you could talk to him for me? I really want to…I need to talk to the Shifter,” Cass said, turning to face her sister dead-on.
Deviation: Altera Realm Trilogy Book 2 Page 23